AMA and Multirotors

[Islandflyer]

If something bad happens, the public isn’t going to ask whether it was caused by an AMA member or not. We’ll all be painted with the same brush. This technology isn’t going away, whether or not the FAA or the AMA prohibits it. It’s out there and growing exponentially. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers have indicated that they are not going to stop selling product.

And the AMA, by embracing these activities is making sure we cannot dissociate ourselves from it; it make us defenseless against the "wide brushing"!

In passing we may note that the AMA has committed $250,000 to this "education campaign". Those funds are unlikely to be covered by a sudden mass joining in the AMA by a community that for the most part does not know or care about our existence...it will end up being covered by us, the more traditional model aircraft pilot.

 

[RJ 706]

This topic has brought to light the disconnect between the membership and the leadership of the AMA.

I recognize and appreciate the organization has many positives to offer, such as safety guidelines, education, competitions and many years of championing the cause of model aviation.
Yet, when you ask a fellow pilot, who is not a part of the competition side of this sport, why they are a member of AMA you get the same response. " I had to be a member of AMA to join the club so I would have a place to fly " is the answer most often offered followed by a reference to the insurance policy which a very high percentage of members do not understand how the AMA insurance works.

Another legitimate question is as a member what have I contributed to the AMA? As a rank and file member how are we to contribute to the AMA? Just something to talk about.

 

[ChickenBalls]

Gents help me out here, what is the difference (dumb it down for me) between Commercial and "LIGHT" Commercial?

@njswede could I get your reply to post #116

@bigblueswope I've been trying to get some numbers from AMA for some time now, could I get you to see if you could get AMA to provide these numbers. I'm not sure why these numbers are a super secret.

1) Total # full paying members
2)Total # parkflyer paying members
3) Total # Free members ( Kids or students )
4) Total # members who attended AMA meeting at Nall for 2013 and 2014.

 

[SleepyC]

Gents help me out here, what is the difference (dumb it down for me) between Commercial and "LIGHT" Commercial?

Light commercial would be filming,photography, mapping, FLIR search and rescue and bridge inspection (and other smaller rigs) with an AUW of under 55 lbs. (or maybe 40 lbs?!?!)

I believe straight commercial would be crop spraying with like an R-Max or some other large industrial sUAS that exceeds the weight limit.

 

[sweetpea]

I saw some B.S. AMA response on the news feeds today. It was pathetic in my opinion.


AMA Reacts to President Obama: More Regulation Wouldn’t Have Prevented White House “Drone” Incident
DC Airspace is Already Heavily Regulated, Community-based Programming is Key to Safe and Responsible Flying

Contact:

Charlotte McCoy

media@modelaircraft.org

(202) 777-3509

MUNCIE, Ind. —The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), the world’s largest model aviation association, today released the following statement in response to President Obama’s comments calling for more regulation of unmanned aircraft after yesterday’s “drone” crash at the White House.

“While the White House ‘drone’ incident is sparking calls for more regulations, the fact is, more regulation isn’t the answer. The Washington, DC, airspace is some of the most heavily regulated airspace in the world, and all aircraft operations are currently prohibited in the vicinity of the White House. Despite the existing regulations, a quadcopter still made its way onto the White House lawn this week,” said AMA President Bob Brown.

“Community-based programming is the key to safe and responsible flying, as our organization’s 78-year history has shown. AMA has safety guidelines, best practices and operating principles that have allowed enthusiasts to operate their aircraft and safely use this technology for more than seven decades. When an incident occurs, it’s a rare day when one of AMA’s 175,000 members is involved.

“AMA has always believed that the best, and perhaps the only, way to successfully manage the recreational community is through a community-based set of safety guidelines and the combined efforts of the FAA and AMA. The FAA’s recent interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft has complicated our working relationship, but it is our hope that the agency will work with us to forge a path forward for the recreational community that finds common ground on the Interpretive Rule and leverages AMA’s deep expertise when it comes to safe and responsible flying.”

Just last week the AMA sent a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta offering the organization’s “expertise and knowledge in support of the FAA’s effort to create guidance for the operation of recreational sUAS in the NAS.”

 

[SleepyC]

I am an avid commercial Multirotor user. (Light commercial) I have over $80K invested into aerial rigs and the FAA has basically shut me down. I still get jobs occasionally but have lost well over $8000 of income in the past few months due to the FAA.

That being said, I do love multi rotors and FPV. But I do not think they fall into the zone of the AMA. They do not fit the model of the AMA which seems to be club-centric and field based. A different approach needs to be taken with multi rotors.

But at this point it's such a mess I almost don;t care. I have moved my production company into much more ground based filming and am sitting on my fleet of commercial rigs that will probably be worthless soon. THANKS FAA for crushing an industry. Guys like me would happily pay for a license, even if it was $1500+ I'd take school if it was a few weeks long, but trying to budget the time and money for a PPL is just not in the cards... So DUMB on all accounts....

 

[ChickenBalls]

Light commercial would be filming,photography, mapping, FLIR search and rescue and bridge inspection (and other smaller rigs) with an AUW of under 55 lbs. (or maybe 40 lbs?!?!)

I believe straight commercial would be crop spraying with like an R-Max or some other large industrial sUAS that exceeds the weight limit.

Thanks Sleepy

 

[Islandflyer]

.../... That being said, I do love multi rotors and FPV. But I do not think they fall into the zone of the AMA. They do not fit the model of the AMA which seems to be club-centric and field based. A different approach needs to be taken with multi rotors.

.../... THANKS FAA for crushing an industry. Guys like me would happily pay for a license, even if it was $1500+ I'd take school if it was a few weeks long, but trying to budget the time and money for a PPL is just not in the cards... So DUMB on all accounts....

Sleepy I feel you pain. Both AMA and FAA are on the wrong path.
Guys like you in photo / video businesses should have an opportunity to make a living flying these things safely without needing to get the same license as a pilot who flies full scale planes with paying passengers on board.

 

[bigblueswope]

@bigblueswope I've been trying to get some numbers from AMA for some time now, could I get you to see if you could get AMA to provide these numbers. I'm not sure why these numbers are a super secret.

1) Total # full paying members
2)Total # parkflyer paying members
3) Total # Free members ( Kids or students )
4) Total # members who attended AMA meeting at Nall for 2013 and 2014.

I'll give it a shot.

 

[bigblueswope]

@sleepy,

That whole commercial vs light commercial distinction...

Is that something you thought up or is there something on the FAA's radar regarding that?

I never even thought about the possibility of rigs larger than 40, much less 55, lbs.

When looking at the FAA's moves in that context, it makes much more sense.

But, yeah, the light commercial uses may be a bird of a different feather.